GETTING THE POINT INDIANA THOUGHT MARK JACKSON WAS TOO SLOW TO RUN THE TEAM--UNTIL IT TRIED TO WIN WITHOUT HIM

Point guard Mark Jackson's black Ford Expedition has sat,abandoned, in the parking lot of Denver's McNichols Sports Arenasince Feb. 15. Covered in snow and stained by road salt, theall-terrain vehicle serves as some wintry monument to howquickly one's fate can change in the NBA. Jackson left his truckat McNichols just before the Nuggets took off on a six-game roadtrip that, for him, turned out to be permanent. On Feb. 20, theleague's trading deadline, Denver was three hours away fromtipping off against Indiana when Jackson got a call in hisIndianapolis hotel room: He had just been traded to the Pacers.

The 31-year-old Jackson responded by dropping to his knees andwhispering, "Thank God." His ego had been in dire need of aboost. Despite leading the league in assists, he had been passedover in January for the Western Conference All-Star squad,marking the first time in 15 years the league's top setup manhad failed to receive an invitation to play in the game.Jackson's heady, steady style had come to be viewed as soanachronistic that he had been traded three times in the lastfour seasons.

But now the Pacers, the very team that had peddled him to Denverlast June, had dealt swingmen Vincent Askew and Eddie Johnsonfor center Lasalle Thompson and Jackson. Not only were theyreacquiring him for their playoff push, but they were alsocommitting to pay him through 1999-2000, when his three-year,$10 million contract is up. In effect, Indiana coach LarryBrown, who often knows more about what he doesn't like in apoint guard than what he does, was admitting he had made amistake in jettisoning Jackson. Says forward Antonio Davis, "AllI can think about is, Why did we get rid of him in the firstplace?"

Before the deal the Pacers, who have reached the postseason forseven straight years, were just 24-27, but Indiana won five ofits first seven games after Jackson replaced 24-year-old TravisBest in the starting lineup and is within 3 1/2 games of theMagic for the eighth and final Eastern Conference spot. "It'slike we were lending Mark to the Nuggets for a little while,"says Pacers sharpshooter Reggie Miller, who phoned Jacksonseveral times a week during the first part of the season."Hopefully, Mark is going to take us to another level."

In Indiana's 104-85 win over Milwaukee on Feb. 28, Jacksonhanded out 19 assists; two days later he had his third tripledouble of the season (17 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds) tospark a 101-85 victory over the Lakers. "I'm not a savior, I wasjust a piece of the puzzle that was missing in Indiana," saysJackson. "I bring to the table some things that were needed,like leadership, unselfishness and professionalism. I've alwaysbeen more about substance than flash."

With an average of 12.0 assists, Jackson is 1.5 per game aheadof Utah's John Stockton, the NBA leader in that category for thelast nine seasons. And yet the more the 6'3", 185-pound Jacksonhas improved at the point, the less his skills have seemed tomatter in today's wham, bam, slam and jam NBA. There's noquestion that he's a world-class plodder. His feet barely leavethe court when he runs, and the heavy wrist tape and the twothick black ankle supports he wears--"My Forrest Gump braces,"he calls them--don't exactly conjure up images of Carl Lewis.

Jackson puts his stamp on the game in a dozen subtle ways. Hisis the no-look pass that finds the hot-handed teammate. He isthe one who chats up the ref after a bad call, barks at a loaferon defense or offers a calming nod from the free throw line inthe final moments of a close game. Jackson may average a mere10.4 points a game, but he has a hand in nearly every move histeam makes. It's a hand the Nuggets sorely miss already. "It'shard catching the ball down at your ankles and making shotsnow," says Denver swingman Dale Ellis.

"I'll give you one word to describe Mark Jackson: fabulous,"says Nuggets forward LaPhonso Ellis, who pitched a fit whenJackson was traded. "He's absolutely fabulous. And I don't carewhat he looks like doing it, he always gets the job done."

Such testimony is sweet vindication for what Jackson believes isthe proper way to man the point. "I used to ooh and aah at dunkswhen I was a little kid," he says. "But I would go crazy overwhat created that dunk: the pass, the pick, the steal, thelittle things that not many people see. The great ones cancompletely control a game without scoring a point. And to abasketball purist, that's like a singer hitting the perfect noteor a poet writing the perfect line or a dancer hitting theperfect step. It's art."

A lost art, Jackson adds, citing his All-Star snub. "Forgetleadership, forget passing, forget playing smart or playinghard," he says. "You watch what gets rewarded on the highestlevel of this game and you start realizing you better grab theball and learn to be selfish."

That has never been Jackson's style. Taken by the Knicks out ofSt. John's with the 18th pick in the 1987 draft, he won Rookieof the Year honors and still holds the rookie record, with 868assists. Home cooking helped that season: He lived in hisparents' two-story brick house in Queens, where he shared a roomwith his little brother Troy, who was also a Knicks ball boy. Heplayed in New York for five seasons, under Rick Pitino and PatRiley, and led the Knicks to the playoffs each year. In 1988-89he averaged a career-high 16.9 points and made his first--andonly--All-Star appearance.

Injuries and excess weight took the action out of Jackson in1991, and after a season with Riley he was shipped to theClippers for two years and then to the Pacers, whom he guided tothe 1994-95 Eastern Conference finals. Throughout his travelsJackson has remained close to his family. He was instrumental inhelping Troy gain control over his weight, which at one pointexceeded 500 pounds. (Troy is now a 350-pound junior atLouisville and has made seven appearances for the NCAAtournament-bound Cardinals.) Mark still calls his parents, Harryand Marie, after every game. When he plays, he wears his weddingring looped through his sneaker laces.

In the absence of overwhelming physical skills, Jackson relieson his knowledge of the game. "Mark is one of the smartestbasketball players I've ever come into contact with," saysPitino. "He's a fierce competitor and the best leader of abasketball team that I have ever coached. There's no differencebetween an assistant coach and Mark Jackson. He knows everythinga coach wants, and he's thinking it as the coach is thinking it.That's how bright a basketball player he is."

Part of his mental preparation includes reviewing film from someof the league's alltime greats. His on-court leadership andrepertoire of pretty passes is derived from studying MagicJohnson, his competitive fire patterned after that of IsiahThomas. He also borrows from Stockton, Earl Monroe and the latePete Maravich. With 6,624 career assists (second to Stocktonamong active players), Jackson is quietly etching out a spotamong his heroes in the record books. "Seeing my name next toguys like Jerry West and Tiny Archibald on the assists list isreward enough," says Jackson. "I've been through some toughtimes, but I don't need anything else after that."

Other than a tow truck, perhaps.

COLOR PHOTO: NATHANIEL S. BUTLER/NBA PHOTOS Because he's not a gifted jumper, Jackson relies on his smarts to get to the hoop. [Mark Jackson in game]

TIP-OFFS

FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 3-9

THE MOVEConcerned about tendinitis in Toni Kukoc's right foot, the Bullsplaced their sixth man on injured reserve. Kukoc hurt the footin the playoffs last year, and because he continued to playduring the Olympics, it has never healed. To recover fully,Kukoc needs to rest his foot for two months. If it doesn'trespond sooner, Chicago could lose him for the postseason.

THE STATWith a 115-106 loss to Utah at home on Sunday, the Timberwolvessaw their record against winning teams fall to 6-22, including0-13 on the road.

THE QUESTIONCan the 76ers avoid adding to their record of six straightseasons with fewer wins than the year before? Since finishing53-29 in 1989-90, Philly's annual victory total has been 44, 35,26, 25, 24 and 18. After beating Washington 99-93 on Sunday, theSixers needed two wins in their remaining 21 games to equaltheir '95-96 victory output.

THE QUOTE"I always felt like one of the young guys. Now, I am one."--Rockets 34-year-old guard Clyde Drexler, after Houston signedforward Eddie Johnson, 37, on March 3, two days after the teamhad acquired guard Sedale Threatt, 35.

Before he became the premier postseason performer of his generation, the Patriots icon was a middling college quarterback who invited skepticism, even scorn, from fans and his coaches. That was all—and that was everything